UK MOD in a muddle over F-35C

VIDEO FROM CVF FLYCO & there was a request elsewhere for a comparo CVF/LHA deck plan so here it is with SCALE:

USS America LHA-6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_America_(LHA-6)
Length: 844 ft (257 m)
Beam: 106 ft (32 m)
Displacement: 44,971 long tons (45,693 t)
Speed: over 22 knots

HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Queen_Elizabeth_(R08)
Length: 284 m (932 ft)
Beam: 73 m (240 ft) overall
Displacement: 65,000 tonnes (64,000 long tons)
Speed: 25 knots

https://www.f35.com/assets/uploads/docu ... -Brief.pdf

HMS Queen Elizabeth, first F-35B landing, Flyco view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfI1Rhd95A0

Attached is a PDF page from which the GIF was made showing only the F-35B Big Decks with CVS thrown in just because....

I saw the USS Iwo Jima a short distance away from HMS Queen Elizabeth at Naval Station Mayport back on the 7th. Honestly, I was shocked on how big the former appeared in person! Which, didn't look that much smaller than the new British Aircraft Carrier. That said, the dimensions don't lie.....



Must have been the angle that I was looking at them from........

Which flat deck was in the foreground? How far is a short distance?

USNI News Video: The Future of the U.K. Carrier Strike Group https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwdTKuwAV6I



Photo: https://news.usni.org/wp-content/upload ... .04-AM.png (3.1Mb)

Six pics here: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4784206/ ... ke-history & https://www.dvidshub.net/download/image/4784215 (JPG 3.6Mb)

Photo:"NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN 25 Sep 2018 Courtesy Photo F-35 Lightning II Pax River ITF   
Royal Navy Cmdr. Nathan Gray, F-35 Integrated Test Force at NAS Patuxent River, Md., makes the first ever F-35B Lightning II takeoff from HMS Queen Elizabeth. Two F-35Bs landed onboard the new British aircraft carrier this week laying the foundations for the next 50 years of fixed wing aviation in support of the UK’s Carrier Strike Capability. Courtesy photo by Royal Navy"

A comprehensive overview of the development history of CVF:

Development of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier – a design history
02 Oct 2018 SaveTheRoyalNavy

"In this article, we review how the design of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers evolved. This is a broad subject, worthy of several books but this article provides an overview....

...The development of such large and complex vessels was never likely to be entirely straightforward but most of the hindrances have been more political than technical. Only after a few years of active service can the ship’s success be fully judged but early indications are good. HMS Queen Elizabeth, effectively a prototype vessel, passed initial sea trails with no major problems (Although perhaps she was lucky to avert a total failure of the propeller shaft thrust block). Despite the many obstacles and external pressures that shaped the project, the designers succeeded in creating a highly innovative aircraft carrier that has a potential for further development. A very good balance has been struck between compromises on capability, initial costs and through-life costs. In a future article, we will look at the delays, the cats and traps detour, passing French involvement and the political background."

Source: https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/develo ... n-history/

FULL Night VL image may follow soon (or not).

HMS Queen Elizabeth, F-35B launch, Flyco view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlHT19-3zE

Takeoff looks like it's in slow motion, that liftfan really gets the job done.

Takeoff looks like it's in slow motion, that liftfan really gets the job done.

If I'm not mistaken, the Bee is lifting off in something like ~250ft -- about five aircraft lengths!?! Very impressive.

Since they are aviation-centric, I still think the USMC might do better with ramps on the LHA-6 USS America and LHA-7 USS Tripoli.

The Brits with their ramps and SRVL recoveries are on to something.

'zerion' posted the full nite VL JPG in the 'screensaver' thread but I'll repost the URL here:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DoiLvpUU4AALI3q?format=jpg [hot linked below - then cropped attached]

This is a first for me seeing the flaming exhaust in a night time VL.

Type of camera setting/film used with it not quite night I reckon. Does not matter to me though - great photo for sure.

This is a first for me seeing the flaming exhaust in a night time VL.

An excellent observation. We know that the F135 does not run reheat in STOVL Mode 4. So unless that is some sort of IR film, I'd guess this "image" has been doctored / edited / artsified. When I first saw it, I at first thought it was some really nice illustration.

Camera picking-up Near-IR

This is a first for me seeing the flaming exhaust in a night time VL.

An excellent observation. We know that the F135 does not run reheat in STOVL Mode 4. So unless that is some sort of IR film, I'd guess this "image" has been doctored / edited / artsified. When I first saw it, I at first thought it was some really nice illustration.

If pumping out 40,000 lb dry from one can it'll still show an incandescent gas and can in low light. Plus the image looks like it's been stretched to bring out the low-light sources. Probably not fake just processed. But the violet light on the island ... guns and roses were playing a gig back there.